This blog is about my experiences with hypothyroidism and to swap notes with other people. I was diagnosed in 2009 and am still not entirely well, though I’m much better now than I was. I set up a thyroid patients' support group in London in 2010 and we continue to meet regularly and welcome new members. There's lots of info on the net aimed at thyroid patients, much of it contradictory and confusing. My aim is to provide a more balanced perspective and information from credible sources.

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Wednesday, 26 April 2017

ch ch ch change change

Ah dear friends, today there is some news to impart.

We have a new website for our thyroid patients' peer support group in London - please share far and wide with anyone you know who may wish to come to one of our upcoming meetings - or indeed may like to join us on a lovely seaside walk we are planning in East Kent in the summer. Full details are on the site. The next meeting is 13th May 2017.

With thanks to the lovely folk at I Heart Guts for allowing me to share the above illustration of one of their cuddly plush thyroid toys - you can buy one of these cute little thyroids directly from their website - they make a great gift for anyone with thyroid issues.

Our group was established in 2010 and we know it is a lifeline for our members, certainly it is for me. We are excited about our next meeting which will take place on May 13 at Crown Court Church in Covent Garden. We really value the chance to come together and support each other and hear each other's stories. 13 May will also be a chance to plan ahead as we will be discussing how we work together as a Team, what topics to cover in future meetings and what speakers we would like to book for our sessions from July onwards.

There is also another thyroid related event taking place in London on the same day. The British Thyroid Foundation are holding a Children's Conference at the Abbey Centre in Westminster. Anyone who has a child with a thyroid condition may find this event extremely helpful. Find out more on the BTF site - I believe it is free but places must be booked in advance with a refundable deposit payable. While I'm mentioning that - my friend's daughter, Danielle, was born with congenital hypothyroidism and shared her story on my blog some time back, you may like to read it here, it's very reassuring for anyone concerned about childhood thyroid issues, she is now a healthy young mother herself.

Our group is currently independent, since BTF have brought out some new guidelines for group coordinators which we haven't wanted to sign up to - they required one of us to agree to have our phone number published on their website and in their newsletter and since regular blog readers may recall this was something I agreed to doing some time back and ended up quite overwhelmed with callers from all over London and indeed further afield, none of us was up for doing that. We are hoping that the charity may reconsider their position in time but for now we will just continue meeting regularly, doing our best to support each other and sharing reliable information (which we will continue to source from BTF) under the new group name, Thyroid Friends.

Thank you for sharing this news with any friends, family or professionals who may be interested. We look forward to welcoming regular members and newcomers to the May meeting.

And now I'm going to skip off to my jazz singing group followed by a blissful grounding meditation in a wonderful community garden just up the road from me before I do some work this afternoon. Counting all my blessings! Sayonara for now.